After 14 Years And Targeted Manhunt, Beit Shemesh Woman Receives Get From Recalcitrant Husband

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A 14-year saga including a dramatic manhunt reached its conclusion this week as a Beit Shemesh resident finally received a get from her recalcitrant husband.

The woman, Orly Vital, met her husband R while in high school and the two married later and had four children. However the marriage soured and Orly requested a divorce. For six years R refused to accede to her requests and made a series of financial demands from her.

Orly contacted Yad L’Isha, a subsidiary of the Ohr Torah Stone network which represents agunot. The case came before the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court and Rabbi David Lau ruled that R would be arrested if he did not immediately grant a get.

R asked for a brief recess to confer with his attorney – at which point he fled the building. An official warrant was put out for his arrest alongside a series of sanctions designed to force him to relent, but R remained underground for the next seven years, abandoning his four children and leaving Orly an aguna for the entire period.

In August of 2021, a donation of over 100,000 shekels to Yad La’isha was specifically earmarked to fund the expanded services of a private investigations firm. Days later, the efforts paid off and R was spotted in south Tel Aviv and subsequently arrested. For the next four months R remained in jail but still refused to release Orly. However when it became clear to him that she would not meet his impossible financial demands, R was persuaded to give a get to Orly, who at long last is free.

Upon receiving her get, Orly Vital expressed her deep thanks to all involved saying, “There’s a well-known rule that you don’t negotiate with terrorists and certainly not with those ones who are already behind bars and this must be the case with get refusers. I knew that this was a war that I needed to fight and to stand firm in the name of what is true and just against the world of lies I’ve been suffering from for over 14 years. I am so deeply thankful to God for bringing me to this day and to the team at Yad La’isha who never gave up, not even for a moment.”

Rabbi Kenneth Brander, President and Rosh HaYeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone said, “The fact that Orly lost 14 years of her life fighting for a release from chains is the height of injustice and abuse, but we are encouraged that the efforts of Yad La’isha allowed her to attain freedom today. We will continue to work tirelessly to advance justice and freedom for agunot.”

Yad La’Isha director Pnina Omer thanked Rabbi Lau’s court for implementing the necessary measures to bring the matter to a close and said that “we will continue to fight on behalf of every aguna but we also recognize that we need to find a workable halachic solution that will bring an end to this deeply painful phenomenon that is harming so many women.”